SecuCode: Intrinsic PUF Entangled Secure Wireless Code Dissemination for Computational RFID Devices

The simplicity of deployment and perpetual operation of energy harvesting devices provides a compelling proposition for a new class of edge devices for the Internet of Things. In particular, Computational Radio Frequency Identification (CRFID) devices are an emerging class of battery-free, computational, sensing enhanced devices that harvest all of their energy for operation. Despite wireless connectivity and powering, secure wireless firmware updates remains an open challenge for CRFID devices due to: intermittent powering, limited computational capabilities, and the absence of a supervisory operating system. We present, for the first time, a secure wireless code dissemination (SecuCode) mechanism for CRFIDs by entangling a device intrinsic hardware security primitive Static Random Access Memory Physical Unclonable Function (SRAM PUF) to a firmware update protocol. The design of SecuCode: i) overcomes the resource-constrained and intermittently powered nature of the CRFID devices; ii) is fully compatible with existing communication protocols employed by CRFID devices in particular, ISO-18000-6C protocol; and ii) is built upon a standard and industry compliant firmware compilation and update method realized by extending a recent framework for firmware updates provided by Texas Instruments. We build an end-to-end SecuCode implementation and conduct extensive experiments to demonstrate standards compliance, evaluate performance and security.Comment: Accepted to the IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computin

RF Energy Harvesting Techniques for Battery-less Wireless Sensing, Industry 4.0 and Internet of Things: A Review

As the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to expand, the demand for the use of energy-efficient circuits and battery-less devices has grown rapidly. Battery-less operation, zero maintenance and sustainability are the desired features of IoT devices in fifth generation (5G) networks and green Industry 4.0 wireless systems. The integration of energy harvesting systems, IoT devices and 5G networks has the potential impact to digitalize and revolutionize various industries such as Industry 4.0, agriculture, food, and healthcare, by enabling real-time data collection and analysis, mitigating maintenance costs, and improving efficiency. Energy harvesting plays a crucial role in envisioning a low-carbon Net Zero future and holds significant political importance. This survey aims at providing a comprehensive review on various energy harvesting techniques including radio frequency (RF), multi-source hybrid and energy harvesting using additive manufacturing technologies. However, special emphasis is given to RF-based energy harvesting methodologies tailored for battery-free wireless sensing, and powering autonomous low-power electronic circuits and IoT devices. The key design challenges and applications of energy harvesting techniques, as well as the future perspective of System on Chip (SoC) implementation, data digitization in Industry 4.0, next-generation IoT devices, and 5G communications are discussed

Sophisticated Batteryless Sensing

Wireless embedded sensing systems have revolutionized scientific, industrial, and consumer applications. Sensors have become a fixture in our daily lives, as well as the scientific and industrial communities by allowing continuous monitoring of people, wildlife, plants, buildings, roads and highways, pipelines, and countless other objects. Recently a new vision for sensing has emerged---known as the Internet-of-Things (IoT)---where trillions of devices invisibly sense, coordinate, and communicate to support our life and well being. However, the sheer scale of the IoT has presented serious problems for current sensing technologies---mainly, the unsustainable maintenance, ecological, and economic costs of recycling or disposing of trillions of batteries. This energy storage bottleneck has prevented massive deployments of tiny sensing devices at the edge of the IoT. This dissertation explores an alternative---leave the batteries behind, and harvest the energy required for sensing tasks from the environment the device is embedded in. These sensors can be made cheaper, smaller, and will last decades longer than their battery powered counterparts, making them a perfect fit for the requirements of the IoT. These sensors can be deployed where battery powered sensors cannot---embedded in concrete, shot into space, or even implanted in animals and people. However, these batteryless sensors may lose power at any point, with no warning, for unpredictable lengths of time. Programming, profiling, debugging, and building applications with these devices pose significant challenges. First, batteryless devices operate in unpredictable environments, where voltages vary and power failures can occur at any time---often devices are in failure for hours. Second, a device\u27s behavior effects the amount of energy they can harvest---meaning small changes in tasks can drastically change harvester efficiency. Third, the programming interfaces of batteryless devices are ill-defined and non- intuitive; most developers have trouble anticipating the problems inherent with an intermittent power supply. Finally, the lack of community, and a standard usable hardware platform have reduced the resources and prototyping ability of the developer. In this dissertation we present solutions to these challenges in the form of a tool for repeatable and realistic experimentation called Ekho, a reconfigurable hardware platform named Flicker, and a language and runtime for timely execution of intermittent programs called Mayfly

Next-generation IoT devices: sustainable eco-friendly manufacturing, energy harvesting, and wireless connectivity

This invited paper presents potential solutions for tackling some of the main underlying challenges toward developing sustainable Internet-of-things (IoT) devices with a focus on eco-friendly manufacturing, sustainable powering, and wireless connectivity for next-generation IoT devices. The diverse applications of IoT systems, such as smart cities, wearable devices, self-driving cars, and industrial automation, are driving up the number of IoT systems at an unprecedented rate. In recent years, the rapidly-increasing number of IoT devices and the diverse application-specific system requirements have resulted in a paradigm shift in manufacturing processes, powering methods, and wireless connectivity solutions. The traditional cloud-centering IoT systems are moving toward distributed intelligence schemes that impose strict requirements on IoT devices, e.g., operating range, latency, and reliability. In this article, we provide an overview of hardware-related research trends and application use cases of emerging IoT systems and highlight the enabling technologies of next-generation IoT. We review eco-friendly manufacturing for next-generation IoT devices, present alternative biodegradable and eco-friendly options to replace existing materials, and discuss sustainable powering IoT devices by exploiting energy harvesting and wireless power transfer. Finally, we present (ultra-)low-power wireless connectivity solutions that meet the stringent energy efficiency and data rate requirements of future IoT systems that are compatible with a batteryless operation

High Data-Rate, Battery-Free, Active Millimeter-Wave Identification Technologies for Future Integrated Sensing, Tracking, and Communication Systems-On-Chip

RÉSUMÉ Pour de nombreuses applications allant de la sécurité, le contrôle d'accès, la surveillance et la gestion de la chaîne d'approvisionnement aux applications biomédicales et d'imagerie parmi tant d'autres, l'identification par radiofréquence (RFID) a énormément influencé notre quotidien. Jusqu'à présent, cette technologie émergente a été la plupart du temps conçue et développé dans les basses fréquences (en dessous de 3 GHz). D’une part, pour des applications où de courte distances (quelques centimètres) et à faible taux de communications de données sont suffisantes (même préférables dans certains cas), la technologie RFID à couplage inductif qui fonctionne à basse fréquences (LF) ou à haute fréquences (HF) fonctionne très bien et elle est largement utilisée dans de nombreuses applications commerciales. D'autre part, afin d’augmenter la distance de communication (quelques mètres), le débit de données de communication, et ainsi minimiser la taille du tag, la technologie RFID fonctionnant dans la bande d’ultra-haute fréquence (UHF) et aux fréquences micro-ondes (par exemple, 2.4 GHz) a récemment attiré beaucoup d'attention dans le milieu de la recherche et le développement. Cependant, dans ces bandes de fréquences, une bande passante disponible restreinte avec la taille du tag assez large (principalement dominée par la taille d'antenne et de la batterie dans le cas d'un tag actif) sont les principaux facteurs qui ont toujours limité l'évolution de la technologie RFID actuelle. En effet, propulser la technologie RFID dans la bande de fréquences à ondes millimétriques briserait les barrières actuelles de la technologie RFID. La technologie d’identification aux fréquences à ondes millimétriques (MMID) offre plus de bande passante, et permet également la miniaturisation de la taille du tag, car à ces bandes de fréquences, la longueur d’onde est de l’ordre de quelques millimètres, une taille comparable à la taille d’un circuit intégré. L'antenne peut donc être soit intégré sur la même puce (antenne sur puce) ou soit encapsulé dans le même boitier que le circuit intégré. En dotant le tag la capacité de récolter sans fil son énergie à partir d'un signal aux fréquences à ondes millimétriques provenant du lecteur, lui fournissant ainsi l'autonomie énergétique (ainsi éliminant la nécessité d'une batterie et en même temps permettant la miniaturisation du tag), il devient alors possible d'intégrer entièrement tout le tag MMID sur une seule puce y compris les antennes, ce qui aboutira à la mise au point d’une nouvelle technologie miniature (μRFID) fonctionnant à la bande de fréquences à ondes millimétriques.----------ABSTRACT For countless applications ranging from security, access control, monitoring, and supply chain management to biomedical and imaging applications among many others, radio frequency identification (RFID) technology has tremendously impacted our daily life. So far, this ever-needed and emerging technology has been mostly designed and developed at low RF frequencies (below 3-GHz). For many practical applications where short-range (few centimeters) and low data-rate communications are sufficient and in some cases even preferable, inductively coupled RFID systems that operate over either low-frequency (LF) or high-frequency (HF) bands have performed quite well and have been widely used for practical and commercial applications. On the other hand, in the quest for a longer communication range (few meters), relatively high data-rate and smaller antenna size RFID systems operating over ultra-high frequency (UHF) and microwave frequency bands (e.g., 2.4-GHz) have recently attracted much attention in the research and development community. However, over these RF bands, a restricted available bandwidth together with an undesired tag size (mainly dominated by its off-chip antenna size and battery in the case of active tag) are the main factors that have been limiting the evolution of today’s RFID technology. Indeed, propelling RFID technology into millimeter-wave frequencies opens up new applications that cannot be made possible today.Millimeter-wave identification (MMID) technology is set out to exploit significantly larger bandwidth and smaller antenna size. Over these frequency bands, an effective wavelength is in the order of a few millimeters, hence close to a typical semiconductor (CMOS) die size. The antenna, therefore, may either be integrated on the same chip (antenna-on-chip – AoC) or embedded in the related package (antenna-in-package – AiP). In addition, by equipping the tag with the capability to wirelessly harvest its energy from an incoming millimeter-wave signal, thereby providing energy autonomy without the need of a battery and at the same time allowing miniaturization, it becomes possible to integrate the entire MMID tag circuitry on a single chip. Furthermore, the timely MMID concept is fully compatible with upcoming and future applications of millimeter-wave technology in wireless communications which are being discussed and developed worldwide in research and development communities, such as the internet of things (IoT), 5G, autonomous mobility, μSmart sensors, automotive RADAR technologies, etc

Architecture of Micro Energy Harvesting Using Hybrid Input of RF, Thermal and Vibration for Semi-Active RFID Tag

This research work presents a novel architecture of Hybrid Input Energy Harvester (HIEH) system for semi-active Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. The proposed architecture consists of three input sources of energy which are radio frequency signal, thermal and vibration. The main purpose is to solve the semi-active RFID tags limited lifespan issues due to the need for batteries to power their circuitries. The focus will be on the rectifiers and DC-DC converter circuits with an ultra-low power design to ensure low power consumption in the system. The design architecture will be modelled and simulated using PSpice software, Verilog coding using Mentor Graphics and real-time verification using field-programmable gate array board before being implemented in a 0.13 µm CMOS technology. Our expectations of the results from this architecture are it can deliver 3.3 V of output voltage, 6.5 mW of output power and 90% of efficiency when all input sources are simultaneously harvested. The contribution of this work is it able to extend the lifetime of semi-active tag by supplying electrical energy continuously to the device. Thus, this will indirectly  reduce the energy limitation problem, eliminate the dependency on batteries and make it possible to achieve a batteryless device.This research work presents a novel architecture of Hybrid Input Energy Harvester (HIEH) system for semi-active Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. The proposed architecture consists of three input sources of energy which are radio frequency signal, thermal and vibration. The main purpose is to solve the semi-active RFID tags limited lifespan issues due to the need for batteries to power their circuitries. The focus will be on the rectifiers and DC-DC converter circuits with an ultra-low power design to ensure low power consumption in the system. The design architecture will be modelled and simulated using PSpice software, Verilog coding using Mentor Graphics and real-time verification using field-programmable gate array board before being implemented in a 0.13 µm CMOS technology. Our expectations of the results from this architecture are it can deliver 3.3 V of output voltage, 6.5 mW of output power and 90% of efficiency when all input sources are simultaneously harvested. The contribution of this work is it able to extend the lifetime of semi-active tag by supplying electrical energy continuously to the device. Thus, this will indirectly  reduce the energy limitation problem, eliminate the dependency on batteries and make it possible to achieve a batteryless device

Proof of Presence: Novel Vehicle Detection System

The detection of vehicle presence in parking slots is a fundamental part of smart parking systems. The problem is commonly approached with devices composed of specific sensors, which usually are either magnetic or infrared. The sensor is continuously sampled by an onboard microcontroller capable of determining the slot status (available or occupied) and sending the information to a central collection and gathering system by means of a wireless technology. Nevertheless, cost and power consumption are still an issue. Based on the consideration that the vehicle slot status is only a single bit of information, in this article an alternative low-power and cost-effective approach is proposed. Specifically, two novel vehicle presence detectors, one battery-powered and based on 868 MHz LoRa technology and one solar-cell-powered and adopting BAP 866 MHz UHF RFID technology, are presented, designed, realized, and tested. The obtained results demonstrate the appropriateness of the proposed approach since the same functionalities of conventional devices at lower cost and lower consumption are reached

Harvesting Energy of Radio Frequency

Renewable Energy sources are the center of attraction for research and development all over the world nowadays. Oil and Gas are no more the main source of Energy, consequently the demand of a lasting cheap source of energy that is environmental friendly, is the main challenge recently. During the last decade, power consumption has decreased opening the field for energy harvesting to become a real time solution for providing different sources of electrical power. Energy Harvesting is a new technology that is going to make a revolution in the coming decade. Energy Harvesting is a technique to provide alternative sources of energy that are environmental friendly and low in cost. Radio Frequency Energy Harvesting is one of the methods to provide electrical energy from the ambient Radio Frequency Energy that already exists in the environment. For example Hand phones can be directly charged from Radio frequencies in the environment like 915 MHz. Laptops can be charged by frequencies like 2.45 GHz. RFID passive tags can be powered by these radio frequencies without the supply of any batteries increasing the range of passive RFID tags to longer distances with lower cost. Radio Frequency Energy Harvesting can provide a world with batteryless devices. With RF Energy Harvesting, the true mobility can be achieved where mobile devices do not depend on centralized power sources for charging. Instead they make use of the existing energy in the environment

An Ultra-Low-Power RFID/NFC Frontend IC Using 0.18 μm CMOS Technology for Passive Tag Applications

Battery-less passive sensor tags based on RFID or NFC technology have achieved much popularity in recent times. Passive tags are widely used for various applications like inventory control or in biotelemetry. In this paper, we present a new RFID/NFC frontend IC (integrated circuit) for 13.56 MHz passive tag applications. The design of the frontend IC is compatible with the standard ISO 15693/NFC 5. The paper discusses the analog design part in details with a brief overview of the digital interface and some of the critical measured parameters. A novel approach is adopted for the demodulator design, to demodulate the 10% ASK (amplitude shift keying) signal. The demodulator circuit consists of a comparator designed with a preset offset voltage. The comparator circuit design is discussed in detail. The power consumption of the bandgap reference circuit is used as the load for the envelope detection of the ASK modulated signal. The sub-threshold operation and low-supply-voltage are used extensively in the analog design—to keep the power consumption low. The IC was fabricated using 0.18 μ m CMOS technology in a die area of 1.5 mm × 1.5 mm and an effective area of 0.7 m m 2 . The minimum supply voltage desired is 1.2 V, for which the total power consumption is 107 μ W. The analog part of the design consumes only 36 μ W, which is low in comparison to other contemporary passive tags ICs. Eventually, a passive tag is developed using the frontend IC, a microcontroller, a temperature and a pressure sensor. A smart NFC device is used to readout the sensor data from the tag employing an Android-based application software. The measurement results demonstrate the full passive operational capability. The IC is suitable for low-power and low-cost industrial or biomedical battery-less sensor applications. A figure-of-merit (FOM) is proposed in this paper which is taken as a reference for comparison with other related state-of-the-art researches